Pixel array medical systems, devices and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10368904-B2
Application number	US-201715431247-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 13, 2017
Priority date	Dec 6, 2013
Publication date	Aug 6, 2019
Grant date	Aug 6, 2019

Abstract

Embodiments include devices and methods configured to fractionally resect skin and/or fat. Fractional resection is applied as a stand-alone procedure in anatomical areas that are off-limits to conventional plastic surgery due to the poor tradeoff between the visibility of the incisional scar and amount of enhancement obtained. Fractional resection is also applied as an adjunct to established plastic surgery procedures such as liposuction, and is employed to significantly reduce the length of incisions required for a particular application. The shortening of incisions has application in both the aesthetic and reconstructive realms of plastic surgery.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
generating a protocol using patient data, wherein the protocol includes at least one target site and a topographical map of fractional skin resections configured for at least one of fractional skin tightening and contouring application at the at least one target site;
positioning at the target site a carrier including a scalpet assembly comprising at least one scalpet and a depth control device, wherein the at least one scalpet includes a tube comprising a hollow region and a sharpened distal end configured to penetrate tissue at the at least one target site;
performing fractional resection by circumferentially incising skin pixels at the at least one target site using the scalpet assembly, and controlling a depth of penetration of the incising using the depth control device; and
removing the fractionally resected skin pixels from the at least one target site via an orifice in the at least one scalpet.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fractional resection comprises fractional resection of at least one of skin and fat.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fractional resection comprises fractional resection of skin.

4. The method of claim 3 , comprising determining parameters of a fractional field, wherein the parameters include at least one of location, size, and contour.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the contour includes a plurality of contours corresponding to a plurality of locations.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the contour includes curvilinear patterning.

7. The method of claim 4 , comprising determining a density of the fractional resection of the skin, wherein the density includes a percentage of fractionally resected skin within the fractional field.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein an amount of the fractional skin tightening is proportional to the density.

9. The method of claim 8 , comprising varying the density between a plurality of regions of the fractional field.

10. The method of claim 8 , comprising defining a transition region between the fractional field and adjacent non-resected regions, wherein the transition region has a relatively lower density than at least one other region of the fractional field.

11. The method of claim 8 , comprising variable topographical transitioning of the density at least one of within and along a perimeter of the fractional field, wherein selective contouring and smoother transitions into non-resected areas are produced.

12. The method of claim 8 , comprising variable topographical transitioning of a size of the at least one scalpet within the fractional field, wherein selective contouring is produced.

13. The method of claim 4 , wherein the fractional resection comprises fractional resection of fat.

14. The method of claim 13 , comprising determining a border region within the fractional field, wherein the fractional resection in the border region includes the fractional resection of the fat.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the fractional resection of the fat comprises percutaneous vacuum resection of the fat.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the percutaneous vacuum resection of the fat is via a separate incision.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the fractional resection of the fat comprises topical percutaneous vacuum resection of the fat through fractional defects.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the fractional defects are generated using the fractional resection of skin.

19. The method of claim 3 , wherein the fractional resection of skin comprises directed fractional resection at the at least one target site, wherein the directed fractional resection includes pre-stretching skin at right angles to a preferred direction of maximal skin resection at the at least one target site.

20. The method of claim 3 , wherein the fractional resection includes combined fractional resection comprising the fractional resection of skin and the fractional resection of fat.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the fraction resection of fat comprises fractional resection of tissue of at least one of a sub-dermal fat layer and a subcutaneous fat layer.

22. The method of claim 20 , wherein the fractional resection of fat comprises fractionally resecting at least one layer of fat in anatomical continuity with the fractional resection of the skin adjacent the at least one layer of fat.

23. The method of claim 20 , wherein the fractional resection of fat comprises percutaneous vacuum resection of fat through fractional defects generated by the fractional resection of skin.

24. The method of claim 20 , wherein the fractional resection of the fat comprises percutaneous vacuum resection of the fat.

25. The method of claim 24 , wherein the percutaneous vacuum resection of the fat is via a separate incision.

26. The method of claim 20 , wherein the fractional resection of the fat comprises topical percutaneous vacuum resection of the fat through fractional defects.

27. The method of claim 26 , wherein the fractional defects are generated using the fractional resection of skin.

28. The method of claim 20 , comprising determining an amount of tissue for removal during the fractional resection of fat according to an amount of dimensional contouring of the topographical map, wherein the contouring includes three-dimensional contouring.

29. The method of claim 28 , comprising removing a relatively greater amount of tissue in areas comprising convex contours.

30. The method of claim 29 , comprising limiting the protocol to the fractional resection of skin in areas comprising at least one of concave contours and flat contours.

31. The method of claim 20 , wherein the protocol includes closing an incision using the combined fractional resection, wherein at least one of a dimension of the incision is reduced and iatrogenic incisional skin redundancies are eliminated.

32. The method of claim 1 , comprising closing a fractional field of the fractional resection using directed closure, wherein the directed closure selectively enhances the contouring in an area of the fractional field.

33. The method of claim 32 , wherein the directed closure comprises at least one of closure substantially in a first direction, substantially horizontal closure, substantially vertical closure, and directed closure in a plurality of directions.

34. The method of claim 32 , wherein the directed closure comprises use of Langer's lines.

35. The method of claim 32 , wherein the directed closure comprises use of resting skin tension lines.

36. The method of claim 32 , wherein the directed closure comprises use of closure vectors of surgical skin resection procedures.

37. The method of claim 32 , wherein the directed closure comprises at least one of a bandage and an adherent membrane instead of suturing.

38. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one scalpet includes a plurality of scalpets arranged to form a scalpet array.

39. The method of claim 1 , comprising capturing digital images of the patient, wherein the patient data represents the digital images.

40. The method of claim 1 , wherein the protocol is configured for at least one area of a huma

Assignees

• Knowlton Edward
• Srgi Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Knowlton Edward

Classifications

• A61B2018/00452

  Skin · CPC title

• A61B2017/00792

  Plastic surgery · CPC title

• A61B2017/00752

  Hair removal or transplantation · CPC title

• A61B18/203

  applying laser energy to the outside of the body · CPC title

• A61B18/149

  bow shaped or with rotatable body at cantilever end, e.g. for resectoscopes, or coagulating rollers · CPC title